---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Longing desire prayeth always, though the…"
description: "\"Longing desire prayeth always, though the tongue be silent. If thou art ever longing, thou art ever praying.\" — Saint Augustine"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/saint-augustine-328_art_longing-desire-prayeth-always-though-the_2943739.png"
---

#  Longing desire prayeth always, though the tongue be…

![“Longing desire prayeth always, though the tongue be silent. If thou art ever longing, thou art ever praying.” quote by Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/saint-augustine-328_art_longing-desire-prayeth-always-though-the_2943739.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/saint-augustine-328_art_longing-desire-prayeth-always-though-the_2943739.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/saint-augustine-328_art_longing-desire-prayeth-always-though-the_2943739.png)

> “Longing desire prayeth always, though the tongue be silent. If thou art ever longing, thou art ever praying.”

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Longing is a form of prayer; silent yearning still connects to the divine.

**In simple terms:** Longing equals prayer.

Key Takeaway

Recognize longing as prayer.

Themes

spirituality longing prayer inner desire faith

Mood

contemplative hopeful serene

Type

theological philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal prayer
- times of silence
- artistic creation

Key Concepts

Mystical theology Christian contemplative tradition

Questions to Reflect On

- How does your longing guide you?
- Can silent yearning become active service?

A Different Perspective

Not all longing leads to constructive action.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire Prayeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-prayeth-4402386/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Longing Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-desire-1206672/) [Longing Thou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing-thou-4402385/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Prayeth Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayeth-tongue-4402387/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Silent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silent/) [Thou art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thou-art/) [Tongue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tongue/)

## Related quotes

> [Some feelings are stronger than fear: love, longing, desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luanne-rice/some-feelings-are-stronger-than-fear-love-longing-desire/)

[Luanne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luanne-rice/)

> [“But lately she had been starting to experience strong, inarticulate feelings of longing, of a desire to be with Joe all the time, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/but-lately-she-had-been-starting-to-experience-strong-inarticulate/)

[michael chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [“She paced her room all day, tossed sleeplessly in her bed all night. At dusk, she sat in her window and poured all her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-forsyth/she-paced-her-room-all-day-tossed-sleeplessly-in-her-bed-all-night-at/)

[Kate Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-forsyth/)

> [“there are people all over the world who carry the mermaid inside them, that otherworldly beauty and longing and desire that made her reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-turgeon/there-are-people-all-over-the-world-who-carry-the-mermaid-inside-them/)

[Carolyn Turgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-turgeon/)

> [Lovers feel a certain burning in their hearts. A deep longing and desire to meet with the beloved creates that burning. To love God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lovers-feel-a-certain-burning-in-their-hearts-a-deep-longing-and-2/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Entirety exists within me as exuberance in empty longing in the desire to burn with desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/entirety-exists-within-me-as-exuberance-in-empty-longing-in-the/)

[Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/)

> [“Comes again the longing, the desire that has no name. Is it for Mrs. Prouty, for a drink, for both: for a party, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/comes-again-the-longing-the-desire-that-has-no-name-is-it-for-mrs/)

[Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/)

> [Creativity is a space for solitary longing, the desire to be elsewhere in space and time, to be in a new ideal world where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chenjerai-hove/creativity-is-a-space-for-solitary-longing-the-desire-to-be-elsewhere/)

[Chenjerai Hove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chenjerai-hove/)

> [Lovers feel a certain burning in their hearts. A deep longing and desire to meet with the beloved creates that burning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lovers-feel-a-certain-burning-in-their-hearts-a-deep-longing-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Longing and desire goes further than instant satisfaction. That's human nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-sui/longing-and-desire-goes-further-than-instant-satisfaction-that-s/)

[Anna Sui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-sui/)

> [“If intimacy grows through repetition and familiarity, eroticism is numbed by repetition. It thrives on the mysterious, the novel, and the unexpected. Love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/if-intimacy-grows-through-repetition-and-familiarity-eroticism-is/)

[Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/)

> [Thou must be emptied of that wherewith thou art full, that thou mayest be filled with that whereof thou art empty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/thou-must-be-emptied-of-that-wherewith-thou-art-full-that-thou-mayest/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [The desire is thy prayers; and if thy desire is without ceasing, thy prayer will also be without ceasing. The continuance of your longing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-desire-is-thy-prayers-and-if-thy-desire-is-without-ceasing-thy/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [Since, O sweet Lord Jesus, Thou art the present portion of Thy people, favour us this year with such a sense of Thy preciousness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/since-o-sweet-lord-jesus-thou-art-the-present-portion-of-thy-people/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Spade! Thou art a tool of honor in my hands. I press thee, through a yielding soil, with pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/spade-thou-art-a-tool-of-honor-in-my-hands-i-press-thee-through-a/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

## More by Saint Augustine

> [Lust indulged became habit, and habit unresisted became necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/lust-indulged-became-habit-and-habit-unresisted-became-necessity/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [The playthings of our elders are called business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-playthings-of-our-elders-are-called-business/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [Do what you can and pray for what you cannot yet do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/do-what-you-can-and-pray-for-what-you-cannot-yet-do/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [For I did not know that the soul needs to be enlightened by light from outside itself, so that it can participate in truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/for-i-did-not-know-that-the-soul-needs-to-be-enlightened-by-light/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [My mother spoke of Christ to my father, by her feminine and childlike virtues, and, after having borne his violence without a murmur or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/my-mother-spoke-of-christ-to-my-father-by-her-feminine-and-childlike/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [Wicked sons do not have the Holy Ghost in the same way as do beloved sons, and yet they do have Baptism. So, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/wicked-sons-do-not-have-the-holy-ghost-in-the-same-way-as-do-beloved/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [To wisdom belongs the intellectual apprehension of things eternal; to knowledge, the rational apprehension of things temporal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/to-wisdom-belongs-the-intellectual-apprehension-of-things-eternal-to/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [It is this one Spirit who makes it possible for an infant to be regenerated . . . when that infant is brought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/it-is-this-one-spirit-who-makes-it-possible-for-an-infant-to-be/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [God has no need of your money, but the poor have. You give it to the poor, and God receives it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-has-no-need-of-your-money-but-the-poor-have-you-give-it-to-the/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [Nothing conquers except truth and the victory of truth is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-conquers-except-truth-and-the-victory-of-truth-is-love/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [“O God, who is ever at work and ever at rest. May I be ever at work and ever at rest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/o-god-who-is-ever-at-work-and-ever-at-rest-may-i-be-ever-at-work-and/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [Our Lord reserved to Himself certain things which He would do in due time in a manner outside the course and order of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/our-lord-reserved-to-himself-certain-things-which-he-would-do-in-due/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/give-me-chastity-and-continence-but-not-yet/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [Nothing, therefore, happens unless the Omnipotent wills it to happen. He either permits it to happen, or He brings it about Himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-therefore-happens-unless-the-omnipotent-wills-it-to-happen-he/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [The reward of patience Is patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-reward-of-patience-is-patience/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

[Explore all 672 Saint Augustine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

## More Art quotes

> [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/)

[Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/)

> [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/)

[Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/)

> [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/)

[Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/)

> [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/)

[Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/)

> [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/)

[Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/)

> [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/)

[Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/)

> [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/)

[G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/)

> [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/)

[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/)

> [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/)

[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/)

> [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

[Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Longing desire prayeth always, though the tongue be silent. If thou art ever longing, thou art ever praying.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Saint Augustine"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/longing-desire-prayeth-always-though-the-tongue-be-silent-if-thou-art/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Art"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/longing-desire-prayeth-always-though-the-tongue-be-silent-if-thou-art/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/saint-augustine-328_art_longing-desire-prayeth-always-though-the_2943739.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/saint-augustine-328_art_longing-desire-prayeth-always-though-the_2943739.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18b/saint-augustine-328_art_longing-desire-prayeth-always-though-the_2943739.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Longing desire prayeth always, though the tongue be silent. If thou art ever longing, thou art ever praying.” — Saint Augustine",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Saint Augustine",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Longing desire prayeth always, though the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/longing-desire-prayeth-always-though-the-tongue-be-silent-if-thou-art/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/longing-desire-prayeth-always-though-the-tongue-be-silent-if-thou-art/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
